


White Rose

by BooBearx



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Army, M/M, larry stylinson - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-10
Updated: 2013-02-17
Packaged: 2017-11-28 19:01:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/677810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooBearx/pseuds/BooBearx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fighting for your country is hard; you have to leave your family, your friends and your lover behind. So when Harry heard that Louis wanted to join the army, he didn't know what to think, yes, it was good and noble to do such a job, but the life threatening circumstances? That didn't sound too good, because he really did not want Louis to get hurt, not to mention the long periods of time spent away from each other.</p><p>!ARMY AU!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Fighting for your country is hard; you have to leave your family, your friends and your lover behind. So when Harry heard that Louis wanted to join the army, he didn't know what to think, yes, it was good and noble to do such a job, but the life threatening circumstances? That didn't sound too good, because he really did not want Louis to get hurt, not to mention the long periods of time spent away from each other._   
  


The phone rang; Louis had been called out to Afghanistan. This was his dream, even though deep down inside he knew that Harry wasn't keen on the idea that one day he might never come back. Louis looked over to Harry mouthing 'I'm going'. Harry knew what he was on about and disguised his upset with a smile. He was happy for Louis, he was getting to live his dream, but he never knew if he would see him again.

When Louis had muttered a few excited monosyllabic sentences into the mobile, he gave a swift, polite goodbye and set the phone down on the arm rest of the couch. He looked over at Harry whose facial expression was blank after the flicker of a smile he had given Louis when he announced the news. Their eyes met for a moment before Louis surged forwards, towards Harry, leaping into his lap and throwing his arms haphazardly around Harry's neck mumbling,

"I can't believe it Hazza, I'm going to hold a real gun!" This brought a smile to Harry's face as he chuckled at his boyfriend's childish antics.

"I'm so proud of you honey!" Harry said trying to sound as happy as possible. "You deserve this."

"I better start packing as soon as possible then" Louis said.

"I'll help you babe" Harry replied a little less enthusiastically. They walked up the stairs, hand in hand, and entered the bedroom.

"What should I pack?" Louis asked excitedly.

"A few tops, trousers, underwear!" Harry replied.

"You are happy for me aren't you Hazza?" Louis asked, a pout present on his lips.

"Of course I am Lou! I'm so proud of you! You're gonna be the fittest soldier out there!" Harry said, trying to keep the smile on his drooping face.

"I love you so much Hazza! I'm gonna miss you!" Louis said, leaning in for a hug.

"I love you too" Harry replied, but then his façade failed and he started to cry into Louis' dainty shoulder.

"What's wrong honey?" Louis asked, the smile disappearing from his face and the worry kicking in.

"I'm sorry; I'm just really going to miss you!" Harry replied.

"Don't cry! I'll be back before you know it!" Louis said, trying to reassure Harry that everything would be okay even though he knows there was a risk that he might never see him again.

"I promise not to run into any bombs!" Louis said lightly, trying to make the tension a little less thick because currently, you could cut it with a kitchen knife. Harry took a deep breath, composing himself and sniffing, he felt Louis lightly brushing away his tears with his fingertips, and he relaxed into the feel of the pads dragging across his damp, hot cheek, the coolness being welcomed. When Louis was satisfied that all the remaining liquid was disposed of, he began to lay feather light kisses onto Harry's face, everywhere but his lips, he wasn't teasing Harry, he was just showing how much he loved him and how much he would miss him, the moment was special, and both of them knew that.

"When do you have to leave?" Harry gasped, the chilled air filling his lungs, making him feel less light headed as the lack of it made him feel empty. He was surprised he could still manage to breathe as he waited for Louis' reply.

"Four days" Louis whispered, not wanting to break the silence which was speaking to them more than the loudest cry.

Harry's face dropped instantly, Louis placed his hands on Harry's cheeks, looking him in the eyes he said "I'll call you every day without fail, I promise! Harry I love you so much, don't forget that!"

Harry stared at Louis and whispered "I love you too"

Louis kissed Harry, and then continued packing. Harry went downstairs and sat on the couch. He stared at the floor thinking hard about everything that has just happened and everything that is going to.

"I've finished! Do you want a cup of tea honey?" Louis shouted down the stairs.

Harry took a moment to compose himself "Yes please babe" he eventually replied. Louis tried to act like it was just another ordinary day, but he knew that in four days their lives were going to change completely.

When their tea was made to their usual high class standard (as in the perfect ratio of sugar and milk) Louis brought the two mugs into the living room, placing them onto the two personalised coasters on the small wooden table in the middle of the room. He skipped over to the sofa for his favourite activity of the day, some _Larry Lovin'._ He sunk onto the sofa, cuddling up close to Harry and throwing his legs across Harry's lap who accepted the new added weight on his thighs. Harry threw an arm around Louis' shoulders, pulling him closer to his chest if that was even possible, and threw his other hand around Louis’ ankles, massaging the bump in the inside of his foot lightly. Louis sighed into the touch and enjoyed the relaxing feel of Harry's massive hands clasped around his ankle and rubbing soothing circles into the skin. Louis nuzzled his face into Harry's neck, hiding himself from the world and only focussing on Harry when he heard Harry speak,

"I can't stop telling you how much I'm going to miss you; and however many times I do, it still won't be enough. I just love you so much and all while you are gone, I will be worrying for your safety, so if you don't ring every fucking day Tomlinson, I will burn all your TOMS and not feel an ounce of guilt at all.'

Louis laughed at his boyfriend "Not my TOMS! Anything but the TOMS!"

Harry kissed Louis on the top of his head.

"I swear that I'll ring you every day, don't worry" Louis said chuckling.

"You better, or the Toms are dead" Harry replied.

Louis looked up at Harry and smiled.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Nothing, I'm just admiring my boyfriend before I leave" Louis replied.

"I want to treat you before you leave honey" Harry said romantically.

"Oh okay then...kiss me" Louis demanded. Harry grabbed Louis and pulled him in. He kissed him delicately.

"I'm gonna miss your kisses Harry" Louis muttered sadly.

Harry gave a devilish smile with a glint in his eye before he began rapping:

"Baby you know that I miss you, I wanna get with you tonight

But I cannot baby boy and that's the issue

Boy you know I miss you, I just wanna kiss you

But I can't right now so baby kiss me thru the phone, I'll see you later on

Kiss me thru the phone, see you when I get home" when he finished, Harry gave a proud smile and looked at Louis who had his face scrunched up with laughter, his smile wrinkles in all their pride and glory,

"Did you really just sing Soulja Boy to me trying to be romantic?" Louis giggled adorably. Harry smirked and nodded, covering Louis' lips with his own tempting him into a chaste kiss.

"But don't worry, I'll make sure to kiss you through the phone" Louis repeated with a stern look on his face as if he was mentally telling himself not to forget and imprinting the memo into his brain.

"How about we stop planning what we are going to when we can't see each other, and do some things we can do whilst we are still together" Louis smiled and nodded, _he liked that idea, he liked that idea a lot._

 

-***-

 

"I need to tell Zayn, Liam and Niall that I'm going away" Louis said "They need to know."

Harry passed Louis his phone that was resting on the arm of the sofa. Louis sent a text to all the boys saying that he was leaving and that they should meet up before he goes.

"It's getting late babe, I think we should call it a day!" Harry said sadly. Louis knew something wasn't right, Harry had never said that before. Usually they stay up all night talking, cuddling and kissing, but tonight Harry was actually _rushing_ to bed.

"Okay, you go get in bed; I'll be up in a minute!" Louis said, trying to pretend that he didn't know something was wrong. Louis took the cups that they had their tea in back to the kitchen then made his way to bed. Harry was just laid there, staring into space.

"Liam, Niall and Zayn are coming over tomorrow; they want to see me before I go" Louis declared.

"Okay" Harry said bluntly.

"Is everything okay babe? You're acting weird!" Louis asked suspiciously.

"I'm fine! I'm just really tired; it's been a long day!" Harry muttered.

Louis got into bed and gave Harry a big kiss. "I love you, goodnight babe" Louis said.

"Goodnight" Harry answered. Louis leaned over Harry to turn the light off. It was only 11:32pm. Something definitely wasn't right!

"Harry are you sure you’re okay?" Louis repeated, he needed to find out what was wrong and fast, because he would be up all night thinking what had changed and if he didn't know before he left for Afghanistan, he would not be able to concentrate and it would worry him so much.

"For God's sake Louis, I'm fine" Harry whisper-shouted his voice harsh and thick with tears. Louis knew Harry was upset, but he had never lashed out at Louis like that before and he didn't know how to handle this sudden mood swing. He did the only thing he could do and wanted to do, he just snuggled closer until they were spooning and Louis as the big one, curving his legs behind Harry's knees and wrapping his arm around Harry's waist to connect their hands and interlace their fingers. Harry sighed at Louis' understanding and whispered,

"I'm sorry I shouted, I love you" and that was enough for Louis as he whispered an "I love you back" and they fell into a deep sleep. They were going to be okay, they could get through this.

 

-***-

 

When Louis woke up the next day, Harry wasn't there. Louis ran down the stairs panicking, this had never happened before. He walked into the front room...there was no one there! He went to the kitchen to find Harry sat the table that was filled with all of Louis' favourite food.

"Good morning babe! Sleep well?" Harry perked.

"Good morning honey, I slept fine thank you, did you?" Louis replied.

"I slept great!" Harry answered "Eat up! We've got a busy day today!"

Louis sat down at the table opposite his boyfriend and ate everything laid in front of him.

"Thank you honey, it was delicious!" Louis said.

"Anything for you, Lou" Harry replied.

Harry walked over to Louis and gave him a kiss.

"Go get dressed then, the boys will be here any minute now!" Harry told Louis. Louis hugged his lover then ran up the stairs to get dressed. Harry cleared up all the plates from breakfast as fast as he could. Louis came back downstairs to find the house as clean as it had ever been. Harry had really made an effort for Louis.

"Ugh Harry what's with the sudden neat freak craze?" Louis asked, his eyes racing after Harry who was bent down, adjusting some of the DVDs that were sticking out so they could find the ones they loved the most, easily. Most of them were chick flicks and romance movies if he were quite honest, both of them enjoyed a kiss and a cuddle whilst watching a romance movie, I mean to be fair, who didn’t?  Harry smiled as he heard Louis' voice behind him and he stood up, brushing off some imaginary dust off his cotton pyjama pants.

"Well I thought it would be nice to know where everything was for a change" Harry smiled even wider, his eyes bright. Louis just shook his head in amusement and stepped forward towards Harry and wrapped his arms around his waist, slinging them low around his torso.

"Hmmm that's good, have you found them braces that I lost ages ago?" Louis asked, he had been missing them; they were his favourite black ones and went with any outfit.

"No sorry babe, I’ll keep looking though, just for you" Harry replied, pecking his nose, surprised Louis could still even remember them as he had countless pairs of suspenders of every shade of every colour out there.

Louis sat down and grabbed the TV remote that was neatly placed on the coffee table. He turned on the TV and the News came on. It was on about soldiers that had been killed in Afghanistan.

"Louis please turn that off!" Harry demanded, not wanting to think about the possibility that Louis could be one of the names the reporter was reading out one day.

"Sorry sweetheart" Louis replied, quickly changing the channel "I didn't think!"

"It's okay. I'm going to get changed" Harry said.

"Okay" Louis answered giving Harry a quick kiss goodbye.

Harry ran up the stairs and shut the bedroom door. He grabbed his favourite pair of jeans and the top that his mum got him for Christmas. That reminded him...has Louis told his mum that he's going?

"Louis, have you told your mum that you are going?" Harry shouted down to Louis who was engrossed in the TV.

"No not yet!" Louis shouted back.

Harry was stood at the door with his hands on his hips looking like a very sexy, domestic house wife "You need to tell her!"

"I know! I'll do it know!" Louis said grabbing his phone that was also neatly placed on the coffee table.

Louis was on the phone for over an hour talking to his mum. He loved her so much; he knew this was going to be hard for her.

"Bye mum, I love you!" Louis said, ending the conversation.

"How did she take it babe?" Harry asked, placing his hand on Louis' thigh.

"Not so well! While I'm gone, will you visit her and call her to check that she's alright for me?" Louis asked.

"Of course I will." Harry replied.

He knew that Louis' mum would find this difficult, and so would he.

 

"What time are the boys coming over?" Harry asked, trying to shake the thoughts of Louis leaving out of his head, he wanted to enjoy the time he had with Louis while he could, not moping about what was going to happen. Louis looked down at his watch,

"In about 1 hour" he replied, throwing himself back down onto the sofa after not so subtly checking Harry out in his casual attire.

"What should we do till then?" Harry questioned, hoping Louis would want to do something better then sit watching telly and getting cramps in their legs.   
"Come over here and I'll tell you!" Louis said flirtatiously. Harry skipped over to the sofa. Louis patted his lap for Harry to sit on. Louis kissed Harry's neck whilst whispering "I love you!" Harry looked into Louis' sparkling blue eyes and whispered "I love you too," Louis pulled Harry as close as he could. He ran his hand down his back and kissed him again, this time on the lips. Harry didn't want it to stop, he felt so special, but that’s just the sort of effect Louis had on him.

Louis continued to trail his hand down Harry's back, a path of goose bumps running after his hand. Harry squirmed as Louis' hand reached the bottom of his spine and slowly started to un-tuck his shirt from his jeans, _oh for God’s sake_ he had only just got dressed! But nevertheless he didn't stop Louis from slipping his small, tanned hand into his trousers and slowly palming his arse. Harry whined into the kiss, just giving Louis the urge he needed to deepen the kiss and slip his tongue through Harry's open lips, the intrusion was welcomed by Harry as his tongue tangled with Louis'. After a few seconds of snogging each other, Louis pulled away and whispered hotly into Harry's ear,

"Want you" before nipping his earlobe then slowly trailing his tongue down Harry's neck before starting to suck at the junction between Harry's shoulder. Harry groaned and shuffled around on the couch so he was laid down with his head resting on the arm rest with Louis in between his legs and his full body leaning over Harry's to keep the connection of his lips on Harry's skin. All too soon, Louis' hand was removed for Harry's trousers and was slowly beginning the job of unbuttoning the collar of Harry's shirt so he had better access to the expanse of skin that belonged to him.  
When Louis had taken off Harry's shirt and threw it onto the floor, he then began to take his own top off. Harry laid still on the couch watching his boyfriend throw his top onto the floor. He admired Louis' toned body. Louis then placed his hand on Harry's chest and kissed him again. He started to unbutton Harry's jeans and gently took them off of him. He then swiftly took his own off. Harry placed his hands on Louis' perfect bum whilst Louis continued to kiss him.  
The kiss soon grew heated and Louis began to grind slowly and thickly down onto Harry, his crotch coming into hard contact with Harry's own. The grinds quickly escalated from being slow, languid circles before becoming short, quick movements, making Harry's bulge become bigger and more tented in his boxers, he was delighted to see that he was also having a similar effect on Louis. When Louis was sure he couldn't move his hips any faster, he tucked the ends of his index and middle fingers below the waistline of Harry's pants; and he quickly discarded Harry of the material and covered Harry's body with his own to keep him warm. He felt Harry dispose of his own boxers in one, fluid action. There was now no line between them both but bare skin, making them both more lustful for each other than ever. When Louis began to feel Harry's cock against his hip leaking with precum, he knew he had to act fast.

Louis continued to stroke Harry's back as Harry got more and more excited. Louis laid his head on Harry's chest and started to close his eyes when the doorbell rang. It was the boys, _how delightful_. Louis jumped up and quickly put his clothes back on, making sure to wiggle his arse in front of Harry’s face as much as he could.

"Harry the boys are here, get dressed!" Louis declared. Harry grabbed his clothes from the floor and got covered again. Louis ran to the door while Harry tidied the sofa. That was a close call!

 

Harry looked down at his lap where his fully erect dick was standing. He could hear Louis chatting cheerfully to the boys without so much of a hint that might have been going on beforehand. Harry sighed, knowing that he couldn't let Liam, Zayn or Niall see what state he was in without making a mockery of, so he considered his options, he could either just stay sat down with either a cushion or Louis sat in his lap to cover him up, or he could have a good old fashioned wank in the shower. Deciding on the latter, mostly for pleasure purposes, for himself and Louis (because it would be pretty uncomfortable for him to sit on his lap with a raging hard on, _right?_ ) so he called out as he was heading up the stairs,

"I'm going for a shower, I won't be long" he heard a chorus of 'okays' as he grabbed a towel off a stand and shut the bathroom door for a long, requited date with his hand, he knew Louis would get the message.

Louis led the boys into the living room.

"So when do you leave Louis?" Niall asked.

"Three days" Louis answered. The boys sat on the couch that Louis and Harry had just had very near sex on. "Do you want a cup of tea guys?" Louis asked.

"Yes please" they replied. Louis walked into the kitchen to make the boys tea, whose preferences he already knew the amount of times they had invaded the flat in the past.

Harry got out of the shower and started getting dressed, he felt better now after his rather rushed release. He headed downstairs and sat down next to Zayn on the sofa "Hey guys, where's Louis?" he asked curiously.

"He's making us some tea" Liam replied. Louis came into the room carrying a tray with the cups of tea on, and Harry not-so-innocently thought how sexy it would be to see Louis in a French maid’s costume.

"Hey sweetheart, feel better?" Louis asked Harry, punctuating the question with a cheeky wink.

"Yeah" Harry replied with an equally cheeky smirk. Louis placed the tea on the table and sat down next to Harry. He placed his arm around his shoulders and kissed his cheek.

"Congrats mate" Zayn said to Louis "I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks bro" Louis said. Louis loved spending time with the guys, he was going to miss them whilst he was away.

"So.....are you going to get a badass gun and like get to crawl around on the floor and hide and stuff? OH MY GOD PLEASE WILL YOU BRING ME SOME AFGHAN FOOD?" Niall asked, bouncing up and down in his seat, excited, his voice rising towards the end as he thought of all the new possibilities Louis’ job had to offer him. Harry laughed along with Louis who was glad at least someone could at least share in his amount of enthusiasm.

"Yes, yes and yes, Niall, I'll try and take pictures of my 'badass gun'" Louis smiled. Zayn was laughing along with them now and Niall was looking utterly confused at exactly what was so funny, however Liam was the only one who wasn't smiling at all, in fact, he was looking straight at Harry who had now stopped laughing and was looking at Louis with downcast eyes. Liam caught Louis' eye and gave him a 'we need to talk' look, but that could wait, he had all his favourite people with him now (except from his family, obviously) and he was going to make the most of it.

 

-***-

 

The boys were talking for hours but Liam kept quiet, whatever he needed to talk to Louis about was important.

"Guys we should go out and have some fun!" Louis suggested.

"Where do you want to go?" Zayn asked.

"Anywhere!" Louis replied.

"NANDOS!" Niall shouted out. Everyone laughed at Niall, he really loves his baby Nandos. Louis took the cups back to the kitchen and Liam followed him.

"I really need to talk to you" Liam muttered.

"What is it?" Louis asked closing the door.

"Are you sure this is the right decision, you know, going to Afghanistan? You could die Louis!" Liam hissed. There was a long pause before Louis answered "This is what I want to do, fight for my country! I know I might die, but I'll die a hero if I do" Liam nodded his head and gave Louis a friendly hug. That was all he needed to hear.

"It's all well acting superman Louis, but that doesn't mean you invincible" Liam whispered, "I don't know what I'd do without you, you've been my best friend since kindergarten, I can't lose you" Louis heart pounded against his chest, he thought Liam would be the most proud of him, after all, he was the one who also went and risked his life everyday as a buff fire fighter, his childhood dream job. He discarded all his own feelings and hugged Liam even tighter, this was just practise, blocking out his feelings, when you are killing people on a daily basis, there is no time to worry about morals, it's a cold hearted battlefield out in Afghanistan, and he needed to be ready for it. When he no longer felt Liam's silent whimpers against his chest, he pulled back and held Liam out in front of him at arm’s length to get a good view at his face and his emotions, his face was pale except for the few tear tracks leaking from each eye, and he was biting his lip as if it was the only thing from making him cry all over again. Louis didn't expect Liam to be this emotional about his new found job, _yes_ he expected him to be initially worried for his safety as everyone was, but not this upset.

"Harry's not going to cope without you" Liam muttered, his expression now hard, his past weakness now gone, just blank eyes and straight features.

"You'll look after him won't you?" Louis asked seriously, he don't know what he'd do if it turned out Harry started drinking or cutting or anything of that nature, Liam nodded surely before walking out to grab his coat and pull on his shoes. Louis leant against the granite work top as if it was the only thing holding him up, now all he needed was Zayn’s opinion and blessing. He was interrupted from his whirlwind of thoughts by Harry coming in and grabbing his waist and tugging him along with him,

"Time to go babe, Niall is getting restless" Harry said as they walked out the door, Louis slipped his hand into Harry's and interlaced their fingers as they walked to the car.

"I'd rather die than face Niall when he is hungry" Louis giggled, but his chuckles quickly ceased when he felt Harry wince beside him. _Oh great job Louis, bringing up death was not a good choice_ , Louis mentally scolded, knowing the best thing to do was let Harry get over the emotional turmoil by himself, he carried on as if he had never said that witty metaphor at all.


	2. Chapter 2

The last three days had been nice, the pair had spent most of their time having sex, but don't judge, they were young boys and in love, it was better than useless one night stands every night, plus they would be spending months apart, that was one whole lot of sexual frustration. But when they weren't making love, they were sat on the couch, snuggling and just enjoying what was left of each other’s company; they ordered take outs every night so neither one of them had to leave the other one for stupid little things like cooking. But with all this time spent together, it was only going to make it harder to leave. They had also spent a day at Louis' family house, with his sisters and mother, saying teary goodbyes and making lovely memories, and to put it blatantly, they all hoped Louis wouldn't die, but they all had that niggling what if in the back of their minds, and it never left.  
   
-***-  
   
Today is the day. Louis woke up early and prepared Harry and himself a big traditional breakfast. Harry had been up all night worrying about today. He was going to miss Louis so much and who knew, today might be the last time he sees him.  
Harry got up a few minutes after Louis and walked downstairs. Louis was stood in the kitchen preparing their breakfast; Harry walked in and sat down at the table.  
"Good morning sweetheart, did you sleep alright?" Louis asked, trying his best not to mention that he was leaving.  
"I was up most of the night panicking about today!" Harry answered. Louis sat down opposite Harry and grabbed his hands   
"Don't worry, I won't die and I'll be back soon!" Once they had finished their breakfast Louis headed upstairs to take a shower and get dressed while Harry washed the dishes. Harry couldn't stop thinking that he might never see Louis again, and to be honest, Louis thought about the fact that he might never see Harry again, but he couldn't tell Harry that, he would panic so much and not let him go, even though that sounded tempting, he knew he would regret it if he didn't leave.  
When Louis came down from his shower all dressed in his uniform, Harry was astounded, through his tears he could see Louis with his light jacket on covered in patches of green. Louis looked dapper, and even though today was not going to be a very happy one, he could still appreciate it when his boyfriend looked fit. Louis held a big, thick leather case next to his side with all his belongings in and he swayed slightly to the left from the weight of his clothes. When Louis saw Harry curled around himself on the couch with masses of used tissues around him, he swiftly dropped the case to gather him in his arms and hush him.  
"It's okay, I'm not going yet, I love you so much, you're going to be okay without me" Louis soothed, rocking the trembling boy in his lap. He could hear Harry chanting sternly into his chest,  
"I'll be okay, I'll be okay" over and over again as if he was trying to satisfy himself and make himself and Louis believe it.  
Once Harry had calmed down and after a hug from Louis, he dragged himself up the stairs to get dressed himself. Louis picked up all of Harry's used tissues and put them in the bin, if he was like this when Louis hasn't even gone then what was he going to be like when he eventually leaves? The question kept going around in His mind, twisting and turning through his brain cells, looking for an escape exit but not finding one. After Harry had got dressed he came downstairs to see Louis stood by the door, with his bag in his hand, ready to go. Harry dreaded this moment.  
"Is it time to go already?" Harry asked, knowing the answer. Louis nodded his head and opened the door. He placed his bag in the boot of Harry's car and sat in the passenger seat. Harry was sat in the driver’s seat ready to go.  
"Goodbye house!" Louis said as if he was never going to return, Harry just stared at him and felt tears building up in his eyes. He put his seatbelt on, "Ready?" he asked Louis who was staring at the house, taking it all in.  
"Yeah" Louis replied and off they went. All Louis could think about was, 'Was that the last time I'm going to see my house?' That question was yet to be answered.  
   
The drive to the airport where they were meeting was silent, neither of them could make the effort to strike up a conversation for the sake of it, they held hands over the gear stick, Harry gripping Louis' fingers tight and kept looking over at him as if to check he was still there with him. The journey dragged on until they were outside the massive stone building, they could hear the airplanes jetting off to somewhere exotic on the runways, whereas Louis was going to a cold blooded war zone, somewhere not as pretty as Hawaii. The air was cold as it whisked around them, the only warmth coming from their joined hands as they walked towards the entrance. They could see many men stood with their weeping families, hugging their children and wife's, all dressed in similar clothes to Louis. The world seemed to stop, time frozen as they watched the dreaded goodbyes happening everywhere, not really registering that they were going to be part of that unite circle, the ones that knew what death looked like every day. Louis would be one of those people that you had to like a picture on Facebook to send your respect, and he knew that this was going to be hard. Some of the families would have been through this turmoil before, their children clinging to their legs, begging them not to leave, and the future was daunting for Louis he wondered what it would be like when he would turn out to have a family, and have to pull the crying child off of his own legs into the good care of Harry (or maybe his husband by that time?)  
Louis looked over to Harry, and grabbed his hand tighter. They walked over to a man dressed in uniform, carrying a clipboard.  
"Hello there sergeant, I'm Louis Tomlinson, I'm a new recruit" Louis told the man. The man looked Louis up and down, noticing that he was holding hands with a boy, he guessed that Louis was gay, Louis felt a bit nervous from the intimidating look and wanted to shrink back into Harry, but he was relieved when the man simply shrugged, as if accepting that he had a gay soldier on his hands.  
"Age?" the man asked Louis.  
"21" Louis replied quickly.  
"Date of birth?" the man asked.  
"24th of December 1991" Louis answered.  
"Welcome to the army, Louis! You'll need to wait here for a while I'm afraid as we are still waiting for some more people to arrive." the sergeant said kindly.  
Louis walked over to a space near the wall, dragging Harry with him.  
"Wow, did you see him Harry, he never smiled. This is going to discipline me!" Louis said. Harry managed to nod his head as he knew that if he spoke he would only end up crying again.   
When he had gathered his thoughts, Harry replied,   
"Nobody could discipline you babe, I've tried so many times, but then you do them puppy dog eyes and make me suck you off as an apology for apparently 'trying to change your personality'" Harry laughed at the memories, "You're like one big, sexy toddler" Harry smiled sadly, thinking of all the times Louis would try and slip in unnecessary items into their shopping trolley at ASDA and Harry would have to pretend he didn't see. They would be useless things like plastic rubber ducks or Pop tarts, anything that caught Louis' eye really, not caring about the product but the fancy packaging, talk about judging a book by its cover. Louis seemed to be pretty out of it and was just watching the planes set off from the runway through a large glass window. Harry coughed to try and get Louis' attention but unfortunately it didn't work. Harry kissed Louis lightly on the lips to see if that would be any better, and thankfully it was as he felt a light pressure being returned.  
"Please may I have your attention" the sergeant that spoke to Louis bellowed "Everyone is here so we are ready to go!" He said before turning around to get to the front of the queue to board the plane. Harry grabbed Louis tightly and didn't let go, tears were streaming down his eyes as he said, "Don't leave me Louis, I can't cope! Please don't leave me!" Louis started to cry too as he didn't know if this was the last time he would ever see Harry. Louis planted a kiss on Harry's lips and whispered "Stay safe, I love you!"  
"You stay safe, my little sexy soldier!" Harry muttered. Louis pulled away from Harry and picked up his bag from the floor. He started to follow the other soldiers through the airport.  
"I LOVE YOU BOOBEAR!" Harry screamed at the top of his lungs.  
"I LOVE YOU TOO HAZZA BEAR" Louis shouted back. People stared but neither of them cared, they liked to watch soppy movies, so why not add some soppy scenes of their own to their lives? They waved at each other and then Louis was gone.   
   
Harry stood there for a minute before falling to the ground. He sat in the same spot for hours, just crying his eyes out.   
   
Louis boarded the plane and sat next to an empty chair so that no one could see him crying. He cried the whole journey to Afghanistan. They had finally been separated, and Louis had never felt worse.  
   
Harry didn't know what to do with himself, he really just wanted to sit on the floor and cry, like he was currently doing, but people were staring, people were laughing, people were cruel. He stood himself up and walked towards a back wall, slumping across it and leaning back against it. The airport was loud, the noise was hurting his ears, his head, he couldn't think, he felt himself fall to the floor, the cool stone coming into contact with his cheek, he wasn't unconscious and he didn't feel light headed, he felt sorrow, he felt empty, he felt alone.  
   
Louis had now landed at Afghanistan. He turned his phone on and sent a text to Harry saying 'Hi sexy, I've just landed here in Afghanistan. I love you so much and haven't stopped crying since I left you! Love you lots -Lou xxx' Harry looked at the text and stopped crying instantly. It was almost as if the text was as good as Louis being there with him. He sent a text back saying 'Hi beautiful, I haven't left the airport yet coz I've been crying so much! I love you so much and I'm glad you're safe! Missing you already, -Hazza xxxx' Harry stood up and walked towards the car. He sat in the driver’s seat and finally drove home managing not to crash.  
   
Louis felt a rush of guilt hit him in his gut; Harry hasn't left the airport yet? Liam was right, maybe Harry couldn't hope without him? He looked down the line at the sergeant who was fixing everybody with suitable roommates and places to stay, maybe he should ring Liam, to get him to pick Harry up? He still had time, and he would feel a whole lot better about himself if he did. Deciding that it was a good idea, he texted Liam explaining the situation, and he got a swift 'alright m8, gud lk xx' as a reply. He switched his phone off after that as he was near the front of the queue by now. He was assigned a room (or tent?) and he followed the instructions on a map he had been handed to a small hut sort of thing, he opened the door, which was already unlocked, and he entered the room, it was very small, about the size of his and Harry's shared bedroom, and it had 4 singled beds lined up against the wall and a bed side cabinet for each one, he could see a door wide open towards the end of the room where he presumed there was a sink, toilet and shower for him and his roommates. One of the beds was occupied by a lad about his age, with floppy brown hair styled to one side, he threw his bag onto one of the beds and held his hand out to his new roommate, first impressions were vital for Louis.  
"Hi, I'm Louis Tomlinson' he said smiling, the boy took a hold of his hand whilst also saying,  
"Aiden. Aiden Grimshaw" he had a similar smile on his face as Louis, not quite reaching his eyes, but still a reasonably friendly one. They both dropped their hands to their sides and went back to what they were doing, Louis was going to start unpacking and Aiden was currently reading a newspaper, looks like this was Louis' new life from now on.  
   
Liam arrived at the airport to find that Harry wasn't there. He phoned Harry to check if he was okay and found out that he had already gone home. He texted Louis to tell him that he was at home and safe.   
   
Harry was sat at home looking through a scrapbook that he made with all the pictures that Louis and him had taken over the years. Don't judge, he was in that kind of mood. He had gone through three tissue boxes since getting home. He really missed Louis.   
   
Louis sat down on his bed and looked at all the pictures of Harry and him on his phone. He was really looking forward to getting out there fighting tomorrow, but at the moment he only had his mind on one thing. Harry.  
   
Harry was hungry, it was almost 7pm and he was starving, but he couldn't bring himself to move himself out of the nest he had made, he was cocooned up in his duvet, his nose pressed into the pillow, Louis' pillow, the scent of his boyfriend filling his senses and overwhelming him with the need of another body around him, somebody to kiss, someone to hold, and to hold him, he needed Louis. The pain at the bottom of his stomach was eating away at him, he knew Louis would tell him to eat, would tell him that he was skinny enough already and needed some more meat on him, but Louis would also make him some food when he felt down, would bring it in and cuddle close to him and share the food. But all this was gone, he had no one, and ‘No One’ was not a very nice person to talk to.   
Harry grabbed the duvet and walked down the stairs. He grabbed some ham, bread and butter to make himself a sandwich then he walked back up the stairs. The sheer amount of effort that took was astounding.  
   
Louis was called for dinner by the sergeant. He walked into the cafeteria to be served some kind of meat and potatoes, it was disgusting! Then he remembered, Niall asking him to bring him some Afghan food!  
"Hey Louis, come sit next to me!" Aiden called, he was sat with two other soldiers. Louis sat down with three men but didn't speak the whole time. He completely blanked all the other men. All he could think about was Harry falling apart at home without him. He really needed Liam to be there for him.  
   
Harry wasn't even trying to cope; he was a mess, red cheeks, bloodshot eyes, tear tracks a mile long, old clothes, no food left in the house. Nothing. The ham he had had was the only thing left in date from the many takeaways they had been having, they had had no reason to go grocery shopping back then. He lay on the sofa, the duvet damp with tears and sweat. It had only been 13 hours since Louis had left (that word physically pained him to think about) but that was long enough for Harry to feel the full effect of no Louis in the house. It was quiet. There was no life. It was empty.   
   
Louis lay in bed staring at his phone hoping that Harry, Liam, anyone would text him. He felt so lonely even with 3 boys in his room that he had grown to actually sort of like. He eventually fell asleep imagining Harry laid there next to him. The imagination was a soothing part of his body that he possessed.  
   
Meanwhile, Harry was still crying in his bed, thousands of used tissues surrounding him. He had gone through at least seven tissue boxes now. He missed Louis so much and this showed him that he would fall apart if they ever broke up. But they were never going to break up if Harry had anything to do about it. He had never cheated and never would, and he strongly doubted that Louis would either, he trusted him, and even if he did cheat, he would probably forgive him if this is what he felt like with without his lover.   
All too soon Harry heard a knock on the door. Who was disturbing him now? He didn't answer it, he knew if it was anyone he knew or was important, they would know what he was going through and would just walk in, and that's just what happened. There was a couple more knocks before Liam came in, and the angel that came,  came bearing food, but when he saw Harry curled up in his reverie, he dropped the plastic bags, not caring about the food inside, and hurried over to Harry with a weak,  
"Oh Hazza, what have you done?" Before climbing under the duvet with him and pulling him into his arms, Harry nestled into him, a whole new flood of tears erupting at the warmth of another body next to him and the comfort it brought, and maybe just for now, he could pretend it was Louis. Obviously Liam wasn't Louis but at this moment in time, Harry didn't care he needed someone no matter who it was. Liam kept a hold of Harry whilst he continued to cry into his shoulder. Harry eventually fell asleep in Liam's weak grasp, and when he did, Liam let go of Harry and started to tidy up all his tissues. He couldn't believe that someone could hit rock bottom in such a short amount of time. Liam stayed with Harry the whole night as any good friend would, in his sleep Harry would mutter "Louis, I love you, please don't leave me!" This showed Liam that Harry really missed Louis. He was so glad that his best friend had found someone as sweet and caring as Harry.  
He knew the two boys loved each other a lot, but he didn't know it ran this deep to cause Harry to have such bad departure dreams about Louis leaving him. He also didn't expect Harry to completely disappear off the radar like this; he expected him to be sad, yes, and cry a bit, but not to appear so, and the only word to describe him, lifeless. He was fished out of his mind when Harry began to thrash beside him and as Liam looked down, he could see hot sweat seeping out of Harry's skin pores as he continued to scream out Louis' name. Liam didn't know what to do, should you wake a person having a nightmare? Harry's face was contorted in fear and pain as he punched and kicked the air around him, narrowly missing Liam.  
Liam foolishly decided to leave him as when he wakes up in the morning, he might be feeling better. Hopefully.   
Liam thought it would be better to sleep in the spare bedroom as he knew that if he stayed in the same bed as Harry all night, he would end up black and blue with bruises littering his skin.   
   
Louis was woken up early the next morning at 4:30am by the sergeant. He got dressed as quick as he could and walked into the cafeteria. He grabbed a bowl of cereal and ate it whilst thinking about Harry and how he was going to go out fighting for the first time in about an hour.  
To say he was scared wouldn't be the best word to describe him at that moment in time more.....agitated, yeah that was all he could think of at the moment, his brain was fried. He was hot in his outfit, in the blazing Afghanistan weather, he was positively melting, and he knew how much Harry hated being warm, that's why he never slept in socks as made his feet sweaty, the adorable little fucker. Why did everything relate to Harry? It was weird to think how much they thought and depended on each other, maybe some time away would be good for them both? No! Louis what are you thinking? Snap out of it! The sun must be sending you mental. Time away from Harry is bad, very bad.  
Louis went to the social room with the other new soldiers to have a talk with the sergeant. All the way through the talk the only thing he could think about was _HarryHarryHarry_. No surprise there then.  
   
Liam woke up in the morning at 7:00am so that he would be there for Harry when he woke up. Liam tip-toed into Harry and Louis' bedroom ('the love shack' which is what they affectionately named the light blue room) so that he wouldn't wake him up. He got into bed next to him and laid there waiting for him to get up.   
By the time Harry did wake up it was 9:30am. He initially looked to his side like he did every morning, to see if Louis was awake yet, buy then he remembered...he was gone. Instead he saw Liam looking back at him as if to say 'I'm here for you.' Harry wanted to cry but he was all out of tears.   
"I'll go and make you some breakfast, Harry, stay here!" Liam said as if Harry would move anyway, he walked out of the room and downstairs into the kitchen. Liam looked in all of the cupboards, there was nothing. He looked in the fridge, there was nothing. He needed to go and get some food but he couldn't leave Harry! What was he going to do?  
And then he remembered...he had brought groceries when he came yesterday! He was losing his mind with all this stress! But he couldn't let that happen, he just couldn't. Liam continued to rifle through the bags until he found the ingredients for spaghetti carbonara, Harry's favourite. He put some water onto the hob to boil before going back to check on Harry yet again. Now that he was co-dependent on Liam, he had to live up to his title, for Louis and Harry, if he failed his mission, Louis would kill him, if Liam didn't get there first. Harry was sat up in bed looking like a startled cat, his eyes wide and green, and his curls sticking out on end, he looked scarily beautiful, how lucky Louis was to wake up to this sight every day. But that was sick, he knew he liked Harry in a more than brotherly way, but to try and take Louis' man when he was out fighting for him? That was low, and Liam wouldn't sink so deep.   
Liam went back downstairs to finish cooking the spaghetti. He brought it up to Harry on a wooden tray. Harry sat up and ate the spaghetti without saying a word. Liam put his hand on his back to comfort him like Louis used to. Liam unpacked the shopping bags that he brought last night so that there would be food it the house for him to cook for Harry more often. He then texted Niall and asked him to bring a bag of clothes from his house so that he could always keep his eye on Harry until he was feeling better. He could bring himself to look away from Harry, he loved him, but he could never tell anyone that. Especially not Louis.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Overuse of capitals in this chapter

_Day Four without Louis:_  
Harry still wasn't holding up very well, Liam hadn't been able to leave without Harry grabbing him by the wrist of his sleeve and dragging him back down into the couch with him, so leaving to go for groceries was a no go zone  
   
 _Day Five_ :  
Liam was forced to run Harry a bath who stayed in it until the water chilled and he was dragged out by an annoyed Liam who had been knocking on the door for the past hour  
   
 _Day Six:_  
Harry spent all day listening to sad songs and watching soppy romance movies, overall a very unproductive day  
   
 _Day Seven:_  
Sleep. Sleep. And more sleep. He had spent all the night before crying. Louis leaving had really started to sink in.  
   
Weeks went by and Harry was still a wreck.  
   
 _Week Two:_  
Liam was finally allowed to leave the house but Harry went everywhere with him.  
   
 _Week Three:_  
Liam went back home to get some more clothes, every time Harry saw a photo of Louis he cried so Liam placed all of Louis' photos in a box for safe keeping, it was a long job considering pictures of him and Harry crowded pretty much the full house  
   
 _Week Four:_  
Things were still the same as the previous week.  
   
 _Week Five:_  
Harry eventually got a good nights sleep after Liam sung a lullaby to help him drift off  
   
 _Week Six:_  
Liam's feelings for Harry were growing stronger and he knew that if he stayed around Harry for much longer then they would start to show.  
   
 _Week Seven:_  
Harry started to man up and actually ventured out of the house for a walk, he may or may not have actually talked to a random old woman walking a dog  
   
 _Week Eight:_  
Harry started to do his own shopping and wake up and go to sleep at recognisable times, Liam stopped checking on him now too  
   
 _Week Nine:_  
Harry got a phone call from Louis, he cried, Louis cried, but at least he was still alive. Louis told him he loved and missed him, that was exactly what Harry needed to pull himself together  
   
 _Week Ten:_  
Harry finally went back to his job at the bakery, the old women said they missed him, kissed him on the cheek and said they were glad he was back  
   
 _Week Eleven:_  
Harry put his everything into his job and the overtime was all he lived for, a cloud of flour constantly settling on his clothes and new recipes consuming his mind  
   
 _Week Twelve:_  
He met up with some friends and went clubbing, it wasn't the same without Louis grinding dirtily behind him, but in his drunken haze, the alcohol took his mind off things  
   
 _Week Thirteen:_  
Liam was thinking about Harry all the time while Harry was working hard at the bakery and having fun with friends.  
   
 _Week Fourteen:_  
Louis wasn't texting Harry as often as he was before. Harry was starting to worry  
   
 _Week Fifteen:_  
Louis didn't text Harry for a whole  3 days. Harry was really worried. Thank god, Louis texted him the next day.  
   
 _Week Sixteen:_  
Harry was constantly texting Louis but Louis wasn't always texting back as he was out fighting from early in the morning, to late at night.  
   
The next few months were the same routine, wake up, miss Louis, struggle through daily life, miss Louis, go to bed and repeat  
 

-***-

The days were getting harder to go by without Louis and without Liam constantly saying 'it was just one day closer to being with Louis', Harry and Liam both knew that Harry would have broken down again. The days were also getting longer, and if anyone so much as touched him on the leg, he would be half hard, the days without his boyfriend were taking its toll, but that wasn't the only reason he was missing him, it was generally Louis' presence. His charisma, the way he could light up any room he walked into, the way he would sidle close to Harry, or in his lap, as soon as he saw him. The days were long but the nights were longer, without the hot press of Louis' naked form pressed up against his back as he woke up, the dazed face he made when he first opened his eyes in a morning, the kisses and morning breath they both shared. It was the little things like that that was making the time drag on so slowly.  
 

-***-

  
Months went by until Harry was eventually counting down the days to Louis coming home. Harry was so excited to see his boyfriend again, as was Louis. Liam came over to see Harry on the day of Louis' arrival.   
Harry had hung banners around the house, that said 'WELCOME HOME LOUIS!' He had also baked a cake and scattered rose petals over the freshly made bed. Harry was so happy and wanted to show Louis how much he had missed him.  
And if that was meant in a sexual way too, then so be it. But no, seriously, he did really want a nice long kiss and a nice long cuddle before the dirty work began.   
   
When Liam walked into the living room and slouched onto the couch, which Harry was sprawled across, Harry was surprised. He thought Liam would have the sense to give them alone time from the long time apart?   
"Uh, hi Liam, how are ya?" Harry grinned, nothing could dampen his spirits today, not even Liam. Before Liam could answer, Harry's phone buzzed from next to him and he hurried to unlock it when he saw Louis' number flash on the screen. When he had read and re-read the text, Harry's smile grew ( _if that was possible?_ ) and began to jump up and down on the sofa;  
"Louis is on the plane! Louis is on the plane! He's coming home Liam!" Harry giggled, Liam bouncing around as the end of the cushion lifted as Harry slammed down into it. Harry was still giggling like a school girl when he flew himself on Liam squealing,  
"My boyfriend is coming home!"  
   
Liam was growing more attracted to Harry every time he saw him and now Harry was hugging him. Harry ran around the house checking that everything was perfect, Louis was only a few hours away from seeing his beloved Harry. As the hours past, Harry got more and more excited and more and more restless. Liam was still there as he couldn't bring himself to leave his crush.  
"Only one hour until I see Louis!" Harry told Liam enthusiastically. Liam was really attracted to Harry at that moment and was trying his best to hold it in. He really loved Harry, even if he had to pretend it was only in a brotherly way.  
   
His smile, his eyes, his hair, everything about him was just so enticing, and Liam wanted a piece of it, just like Louis already had claimed first. But now Harry had found something to look forward to, everything about him was so much brighter, how his eyes didn't even need to catch the light for them to twinkle like a rock pool on the beach, didn't need anything funny for him to smile so wide that Liam was surprised his cheeks weren't aching, how he didn't need someone to fix his fringe for him as he was correcting it himself, obviously wanting to look perfect for Louis. The joy radiating off of him was infectious, and Liam was trying his best to hold back, he attempted to make small talk with Harry, it worked.   
   
But then Liam did something he knew he shouldn't have done. He made Harry laugh, like properly laugh, from the bottom of his stomach before bursting out of his mouth. Harry threw his head back, his eyes scrunched up as he smothered a hand over his mouth as if to stop himself. If Liam could take a picture of this moment he would, it was beautiful, and he wanted to be able to look back at this and think, I made that happen.   
   
Louis was so lucky to have such a beautiful boy to be his, yes Louis was gorgeous, but Harry had that edge, Harry was all boy, hard muscles, big frame, tall stance, he was manly, Louis was strong, yes, but he was too pretty to be called a man, dainty features, high cheekbones, stunning blue eyes, soft lips. He had claimed Harry's heart first, but he deserved it, they were perfect, but Liam couldn't stop thinking, could him and Harry be better? He knew the answer.  
   
Harry's phoned buzzed again. He dived across the sofa and grabbed his phone.  
'I've just landed sweetheart, not long now! xx' Louis texted to Harry. Harry looked over at Liam "He's landed! Not long now!" Liam smiled at Harry, he was so gorgeous! Harry sat down on the sofa and thought about what he'd tell Louis first. He was so excited to see Louis, nothing could ruin this moment, nothing at all.  
   
Liam could see that Harry was deep in thought, his brow furrowed and his eyes trained into the floor in front of him. Liam continued to watch as Harry bored holes into the floor, not blinking, moving or anything, just nibbling at his lower lip and staring. Harry had obviously started to think about something nice as a small smile began to grow across his face, a normal person would not notice such a small movement, but Liam saw, he saw clear, as he was watching with Harry with such intent he could practically see the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. When Harry licked his lips, it was as if something in Liam's brain snapped, he clambered over the sofa and pushed Harry down onto the cushions who gave a quiet squeak in response, not quite fully out of his dazed state.   
   
Liam got on top of Harry quickly but carefully, pushing him slightly into the cushions, keeping him down so he couldn't move, not that he was trying to get away or anything, he was just staring blankly at the door, the smile still present on his face.   
   
Wanting to bring Harry back to reality, Liam forced his lips onto Harry's who stayed completely still before moving his lips slightly, then stopping again, his eyes widened slightly as he adjusted to the settings.   
Harry tried to nudge lightly at Liam's chest, trying to remind him who it was he was kissing, but Liam was having none of it as he pushed his tongue into Harry's mouth who started to push harder at Liam's chest, not doing very well mind you as Liam still had one of his arms pinned down. All Liam could think about Harry's lips felt much better than he had ever imagined and how nice they felt against his, at least in this moment, he could pretend actually loved him back, and that he was his.  
   
A loud bang sounded from the corner of the room as Liam promptly detached his lips, wiping them with the back of his hand and sitting up, his thighs either side of Harry's hips, basically straddling him.  
Meanwhile, Harry was propping himself up on his elbow, he green eyes wide with shock and his hair all roughed up, his eyes were trained towards the door as he whispered a single word,  
   
 _"Louis"_  
   
Louis dropped his leather bag to the floor with a thump, his eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights, even if he wasn't the guilty one. He was still in his uniform, the shoulder pads broadening his frame and the trousers slightly too small. He gazed at the sight in front of him in horror before promptly hurrying out the room,  
"I'm sorry, I think I should just go" he said, not even knowing himself why he was apologising, before charging out the room, his heart beating far quicker than it should.   
Harry shoved Liam away and ran out of the door after Louis,  
"Louis" He screamed over and over again, but Louis wasn't there. Harry walked back into his house "WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU JUST DONE?" Harry shouted at Liam, tears streaming down his face.  
Before Liam had time to answer Harry shouted   
"GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! GET OUT!" Okay that was deserved but nevertheless, Liam ran out of the house crying. He couldn't hold the tears back as he ran. What had he just done? Harry had been all excited to see Louis and he had just ruined it!   
   
Harry fell to his knees crying. What had just happened? What if Louis never wanted to see him again?  
   
Even if he didn't, he wouldn't blame him, he had just 'kissed' another man, cheating basically. Even if it was Liam's fault. All his fault. Maybe Louis would let him explain? Nothing would instantly be better but at least he could assess the situation better? But why had Liam done it? Today of all days? Harry's thoughts were scrambled, he didn't know what to do, think or say. All he would ever want and need was Louis, but maybe he was gone? Harry gazed over to the cake and rose petal covered bed, this was unforgivable, he knew he never had and never would deserve Louis, that was why he tried his damn hardest to keep him, and up until now it had worked. But Harry knew he had sunk low, kissing somebody else whilst his boyfriend was fighting for the country, risking his life for him, and everyone, every day? He was brave, and Harry just wasn't. Harry blamed Liam. He was going to fucking murder him.  
   
-***-  
   
Louis was sat in the café that Harry and him always went to. He couldn't believe what he had just saw! He was crying his eyes out. All this time he had been asking Liam to look after Harry and he had been trying to steal him away. Louis was angry with Liam, himself, but most of all, Harry. How dare he do that? Louis was risking his life to save him and that was how he repaid him?   
Louis checked his phone to hear 24 voicemails from Harry. He replayed the messages a lot of times just so he could hear Harry's voice. He could tell that Harry was upset but he was so angry with him that he didn't reply.   
Louis didn't know where to go. He had a month at home that he had been looking forward to, but now all he wanted to do was get back to Afghanistan. He never thought he'd live for the day he would ever want to say that.  
The bombs, the guns, the stamina it took to stay out there, anything was better than this. He felt awful. He wanted to go back. He needed to go back. If his boyfriend ( _ex?)_ didn't want him anymore, he sure knew that the army did.   
Olly was still out there, he didn't have family to go back to, well at least that's what Louis found out, he didn't know about friends, so Olly stayed, in the tent all on his own, the debris and landscape all around him crumbling. Louis winced, he couldn't imagine what it would be like to wake up on his own from the usual noises that happened in the night, it was terrifying, Olly was brave; really brave.   
   
Louis could see the waitress' looking over at him, sobbing in the corner, curled up around himself, they were gossiping as if they didn't know Louis could blatantly tell they were talking about him, he needed to get out the cafe.   
He pulled his phone out of his pocket, yet again 7 more voicemails added to the list that was building up in his inbox. He rang Zayn to pick him up, it was only him and Niall he had left.  
   
Zayn came to pick him up as quickly as he could when he heard Louis' sad voice through the phone,  
"Hey Louis, I didn't think I'd see you for a while, I thought that you would be busy with Harry. What's happened?" Zayn asked curiously. Louis walked over to him, still crying, "I don't want to talk about it." he replied "Ask Liam"  
Zayn put his arm around Louis and led him to the car.   
"Where do you want me to take you?" Zayn asked. Louis paused for a while, considering whether to go home to Harry, go kill Liam, or go with Zayn.   
"I want to go with you," He eventually replied.  
"Okay mate" Zayn said, desperate to know what had happened between him and Harry. Once they had got home, Louis ran straight up to the spare bedroom, jumped on the bed and cried. He had managed to keep the water works in check whilst in the car, but laid on the fluffy white bedsheets, he was alone, and in private, nobody there to see him cry.  
Zayn sent a text to Harry asking what had happened and telling him that Louis was staying with him. All he knew was that whatever had gone on was serious, serious enough for Louis to come to him and not Harry.  
   
Zayn quietly trodded up the stairs that Louis had ran up and pushed open the door and saw Louis curled up in a ball in the middle of the bed, his face buried deep into the cushion, heart wrenching sobs pouring out of his mouth. Zayn didn't like seeing Louis like this, he didn't like seeing any of his friends like this, but with Louis it was different, Zayn had known Louis the longest and it physically hurt him to see him cry when he was constantly so bright and happy. Zayn carefully tiptoed towards the bed before lifting up the covers and sliding into bed next to Louis, he knew he needed someone now, and not to be asked questions, doing just that he turned to Louis, curling his hand around his waist and spooning him from the back, offering all the love and affection he could give, and Louis gratefully excepted it.  
   
When Harry had read Zayn's text he immediately grabbed his car keys and drove to Zayn's house. He kicked the door open and ran in shouting "Louis, Louis honey, I'm so sorry it's not what it looked like!" The clique.  
Louis heard the shouts and sat up. Zayn ran down stairs to see Harry in pieces on the tiled floor. Harry looked up at Zayn   
"Where is he?" Harry weeped.  
"Spare bedroom" Zayn replied. As Harry tried to walk past Zayn, Zayn grabbed his shirt and whispered "I don't know what you've done, but I have never seen him so upset before, you better not be here to hurt him even more" Harry nodded thd ran up the stairs and pushed the door open.  
"LOUIS! I'm so sorry! He came onto me!" Harry wailed, running over to his boyfriend. Louis rejected his hug and turned his back in him.  
"Louis, I have missed you so much! Please don't do this to me!" Harry cried.  
"I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT CHEATED ON ME!" Louis screamed.  
"Liam came onto me honey!" Harry replied.  
"IT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE THAT TO ME! I LOVE YOU HARRY! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, BUT I CAN'T TRUST YOU ANYMORE! YOU CHEATED ON ME WITH ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS WHILE I WAS AWAY IN AFGHANISTAN! I CAN'T EVEN LOOK AT YOU!" Louis shouted.  
"Louis please!"  
"WE ARE OVER! IF THERE IS NO TRUST IN THIS RELATIONSHIP THEN WHAT IS THERE? SEX, BECAUSE SEX ISN'T EVERYTHING! THIS IS BREAKING MY HEART BUT YOU HAVE MOVED ON, SO GO AND CRY TO LIAM FROM NOW ON AND STAY AS FAR AWAY FROM ME AS YOU CAN!" Louis weeped, "GET OUT!"  
   
"But I don't want Liam! I only want you! What can I do to show you that?" Harry begged, the stream of tears flowing down his face, this was meant to be a good day, it was not meant to end up like this at all. Louis kept silent as his own tears dragged down his cheeks, red lines painting his face,  
"Harry, please just go, I need time to think, I'll see you tomorrow if I can find the sympathy within myself" Louis whimpered, not finding the energy within himself to shout anymore, his voice was already hoarse enough from the crying. Louis felt the dip in the bed spring back to it's original shape and Harry left him on his own, he felt Harry place a feather light kiss on his cheek beforehand but Louis didn't react, remaining unresponsive to Harry's affectionate touches.  
Harry shut the door quietly behind him as he walked out, he brushed past Zayn who was still stood in the hallway where Harry had left him as he walked out of the front door, he didn't want to speak to anyone right now.  
   
Louis laid on the bed and cried. Did he actually just break up with Harry? His life wasn't worth living anymore. Zayn quietly opened the door and placed a tissue box and a glass of water on the bedside table. Zayn really did know how to support Louis through his breakups, and there have been a few over the years, but Zayn really thought that Harry was the one. Zayn laid on the bed next to him and dried Louis' tears with one of the tissues. This is exactly what Louis needed, someone to be there for him. Zayn kissed Louis on top of his head trying to comfort him.  
   
Over the years, the break ups were bad, but Zayn could tell, this would be the worst, the ultimate:  
   
First of all there had been Derick when Louis was 16, everyone knew he was a tit and everyone tried to tell him, but he didn't listen, he thought he was in love, that went down the drain when he he Derick want to come out in high school because he was scared of being called a 'fag'.  
   
Then there was Mark when Louis was 18, he was nice to Louis, so sweet and kind, but that stopped the first time he hit him, Louis thought he was just drunk and he wouldn't act like that is he was sober, he proved that wrong as he would hit Louis almost constantly. But Louis was always sure he deserved it, but deep down he knew he didn't. And that one was ended by Zayn who was forced to intervene, probably the best thing he has ever done in his life.  
   
Penultimately there was Matt, nice lad, but decided his job was more important than Louis so flew away to America, not breathing a single word to Louis before jetting off, Louis was left broken.  
   
Finally there was George, he cheated on him, simple as that.  
   
And then there was Harry and we all know how that has gone, so overall Louis doesn't seem to do well in relationships, and guess who has to pick up the pieces? Zayn.   
   
-***-  
   
Zayn stayed up with Louis all night eating ice cream and watching Grease over and over again. This is what they always do when Louis is going through a breakup.   
   
Harry was sat at home, in bed, crying harder than he did when Louis left to go to Afghanistan, but now Louis has left or good, not just miles separating them, but feelings too. Harry sent a text to Louis asking if he could see him again so that they could talk. Louis didn't reply. He was too upset. Harry came over anyway. He knocked on the door and waited for Zayn to answer. Zayn opened the door and told Harry to be calm and if he wanted to make this work then he should tell the truth. Harry walked up the stairs to the bedroom and saw Louis sat on the bed watching Grease for the billionth time.  
"Louis" Harry croaked, entering the room.  
"I'm not in the mood Harry, I told you yesterday! Leave me alone, it's too late, we're over," Louis mumbled, the phrase stabbing him in the gut.  
"Please listen to me!" Harry cried, not moving an inch.  
"You heard him!" Zayn said, standing at the door. Harry left crying.  
   
Harry didn't know what to do, Louis just kept rejecting him, maybe some space would be good now Louis knew that Harry was sorry and was willing to do anything to make it up to him.   
   
The tears just sort of stopped, as if he had run out, one minute they were streaming down his cheeks, the next, his cheeks were dry. He was silently sobbing, his face scrunched up, but the tears not coming, it was weird, and Harry didn't know it meant.


End file.
